Juan Mercado, of West Babylon, sentenced to 4 years for taking $329K in bribes as superintendent for NYC Housing Authority

A West Babylon man who served as a former superintendent for the New York City Housing Authority was sentenced Friday to 4 years in prison for taking nearly $330,000 in bribes.

Juan Mercado, 50, was among 70 defendants charged in the investigation by the New York City Department of Investigation into bribes for awarding contracts in the housing authority, the Department of Investigation said in a news release.

Mercado pleaded guilty in May in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to one count of solicitation and receipt of a bribe by an agent of an organization receiving federal funds. He also agreed to repay the bribes of $329,300 and is expected to surrender on March 27 to serve his sentence, according to the release.

His attorney could not be reached for comment Friday.

Investigators said Mercado supervised three housing authority properties in Queens in Ravenswood, South Jamaica, and Hammel-Carleton Manor, between 2014 and 2023.

He was hired by the housing authority in 1994 and was suspended following his arrest in February 2024, according to the Department of Investigation. At the time of his arrest, his housing authority salary was $103,650, investigators said.

While superintendent and property manager, he demanded payments and cash, investigators said, in exchange for housing authority contracts. Authorities said he usually demanded bribes between 10% to 20% of the contracts awarded. The bribes led to more than $1.8 million in housing contracts and Mercado collected a total of about 16% of all bribes paid to other defendants in the housing authority scheme.

Investigators said 60 of the 70 defendants pleaded guilty, including six from Long Island. Three other defendants were convicted by a jury. Seven cases are pending.

Gwendolyn Bell, 39, of Baldwin, served as a Brooklyn superintendent and received $32,000 in bribes for awarding no-bid contracts between 2019 and 2023. She pleaded guilty in June and was sentenced to time served.

Charles Starks, 58, and Nymiah Branch, 45, both of Elmont, also pleaded guilty. Branch was sentenced to probation and Starks is scheduled to be sentenced in March.

James Baez, 59, of Valley Stream, pleaded guilty in April and was sentenced to probation in October and ordered to pay $2,600 in restitution. Evelyn Ortiz, 56, of Freeport, pleaded guilty in July and is scheduled to be sentenced in March.

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.